


A Cut Above the Rest

by CandiedFroug



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, I don't know how many times I'll rename this I just hope it makes sense, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn With Plot, Two Endings, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-01-04 00:37:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21188654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandiedFroug/pseuds/CandiedFroug
Summary: Jasper comes across the renegade Pearl belonging to Rose Quartz and attempts to poof her and bring her in for questioning. As they become stuck together, Jasper starts to care for and perhaps fall for the enemy, helping her to infiltrate a Homeworld base on Earth.





	1. Chapter 1

Jasper knelt behind a tree, the freezing earth wind whipping wild, creamy locks of hair about her. She squinted and huffed, quickly reaching into a pocket in her brown trousers and pulled out a rough string of twine. She gathered her hair up and tied it tight, removing most of the offending hair out of her face.

"I don't know what anyone sees in this damn planet… It's nothing but a waste of my time." Jasper grumbled to herself and moved positions once she was satisfied with her fluffy mane. 

She had to survey this area of forest, as the Crystal Gems somehow managed to get an informant within Homeworld's ranks. Tonight the damn rat will go on trial and be shattered. Good riddance. It's likely Rose's lackeys will be here to try and rescue her before that happens, though, and it's Jasper's job to make sure no one makes it past her until after the amethyst they’ve captured has been taken care of. She's not sure why she was assigned to this instead of doing something better, however. As Yellow Diamond's most trusted jasper, she's more suited to do better jobs than just waiting around for someone who _ might _come by.

After a few hours of nothing, Jasper became tired of waiting for something to happen. Snow was beginning to drift down from fat, dark clouds and build up in her hair and her clothes, which irritated her greatly, she wanted to be over with this already. To fill the empty time, she moved to different vantage points to see if she could get a glimpse of anything, but so far she saw nothing. 

Just as daylight was waning to dusk, Jasper heard the crunch of snow under soft footsteps in the near distance. She ducked where she thought she wouldn't be easily spotted among thick patches of dead underbrush. Her hand went to the hilt of her war axe holstered at her side, her muscles were tensed and she took great care not to move. A smirk played at her lips, she was ready to fight.

As the sound came closer, Jasper caught sight of the culprit. A pearl. Specifically the one always seen right at Rose Quartz's side. A soft beam of bluish light radiated from her gem as she looked through the trees, likely looking to see if she can spot any enemy gems hiding among the scenery. Jasper made sure to stay out of its line of sight, as she wanted to catch her off guard. This pearl was not to be underestimated in the slightest despite her stature, she has seen this particular gem take down several quartzes all in one fight.

Of course, none of those quartzes were this particular Jasper. 

Despite her confidence in being able to carry out this mission, she wanted to be careful. Anything that goes wrong here could mean her own gem under the hammer. As much as Jasper enjoyed working under Yellow Diamond, she was indeed cruel and unforgiving if something were to go even go slightly askew to her plan.

Pearl seemed to quickly tiptoe everywhere she went, her grace not even slightly faltering under the seemingly heavy, pink rose decorated armor she was dressed in. Jasper noticed her rapiers were removed from their sheaths, she was vigilant and ready to defend herself at a moment's notice.

Jasper quickly curled up as the spotlight swung in her direction, using her abundance of light colored hair as a camouflage between the dead twigs. Surprisingly, she was overlooked. Pearls were usually thorough, perhaps she was in a hurry? Whatever the case, Jasper had a chance. And she had to take it now, when Pearl had her back turned.

Pearl pivoted almost instantly to face Jasper as she heard the beastly woman launching from her hiding spot, gasping as she spotted the source of the commotion. The massive war axe Jasper had came down hard and fast from above the dainty gem's head. Pearl reacted instinctively and bounced backwards, crossing her swords in front of her to block the next swing as she landed.

"Nice moves for a little _ pearl _." Jasper taunted. "But it won't take much for me to crush you into tiny pebbles, you should just give up and let me take you in!" She liked stirring up her opponents.

Pearl scoffed and deflected another heavy hit, "Oh, _ please _ you big brute. Every quartz that has crossed my path has been easily poofed, and you're no-" she paused to grunt and sidestep Jasper, slashing at her side and making a huge gash at the burly woman's ribs, " _ Exception _!" She smiled valiantly, proud that she had landed the first real hit. 

Jasper yelled out in pain and grabbed her side, the feeling of warm blood on her hand instantly making her see red. She turned towards the Pearl, who blinded her with a sudden bright beam her forehead emitted. She growled and swung the axe from the side with no regard to what may be in her way, managing to catch Pearl’s belly with the freshly sharpened blade. The armor took most of the damage, but the rosy knight was left with nothing more than a deep cut in her flat belly, luckily.

Pearl shouted and quickly retreated back into the treeline, which Jasper was just barely able to catch as her eyes were recovering from being blinded. She stumbled forward and rubbed at her eyes, managing to follow behind the more nimble gem by listening to the sounds of her feet in the snow rather than just by sight in the duration she was blinded.

“GET BACK HERE!” Jasper bellowed, quickly downing the dead plants in front of her with her weapon and trampling them under her huge boots without a second thought. “I’M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET, GEM SHATTERER!” 

Jasper’s eyes began to adjust, and she noticed the fairer woman slip inside a cave as she called out her challenge. It was formed in the side of a rocky cliff and large, snow-covered boulders surrounded its entrance. It could have been easily overlooked had she not seen Pearl dart inside. Jasper looked down where tiny footprints disturbed the freshly fallen snow and chuckled to herself, blotches of soft blue blood soaked into the white ground. Evidence that she’d managed to successfully hurt Pearl. She was sure she would be able to poof her and bring her back to Yellow Diamond just as planned.

Jasper stomped her way through the cave entrance, not even trying to hide her presence in the slightest. She noticed some rocks had fallen from the top of the entrance and took note to leave soon, lest she got stuck in this disgusting, damp hole in the cliff if a rockslide had decided to occur and cover her exit. She explored cautiously as her eyes struggled to adjust to the increasingly dimming light of the cave. Somehow she couldn’t see where Pearl was, even though she was just behind her moments ago. She had to be hiding somewhere.

A sly voice came from the ceiling, “Hello, Jasper~!”

Jasper looked and caught sight of Pearl, who hung from a stalactite at the top of the cave, slashing at another stalactite. It fell, and before Jasper could finish her next sound, she was hit atop her head.

_ Poof. _

A billowing puff of white clouds flew out from where the stalactite struck the ground, leaving nothing else but a pile of crumbling rocks and a shiny, triangular jasper gem sticking from the middle of the pile. Pearl leaped down elegantly from her spot on the ceiling, holstered her sword and bowed before her successfully poofed opponent, “You fought valiantly Jasper, but this battle was won by Pearl.” She smiled and plucked the orange gem from the ground. She noticed the war axe Jasper owned lying on the ground and scoffed, picking it up and tossing it out into the powdery snow with some effort. 

A loud rumble started and caught Pearl’s attention before she could attempt to bubble the warrior gem. She froze in her spot and looked around her, this surely wasn’t something she had predicted would happen. Loose rocks slid down over the cave opening, soon followed by larger stones and boulders even taller than Jasper was. She gasped and ran deeper into the cave as rocks and dirt fell on her head, fortunately tripping over her own feet and dropping Jasper, who bounced deeper into the cave and far out of reach.

Jasper’s gem glowed bright as she reformed rapidly building up the huge body she previously had, she wasn’t one to take her time and she had a score to settle. Pearl made her gem glow so she could see, scrambled back to her feet and drew her intricately crafted rapiers from their scabbards, ready to fight again. 

Jasper gasped as she reformed and took a second to process what was happening. She glanced around and then down at Pearl, who was in position to defend herself. First thing she decided to do was barrel towards the little knight, howling and ready to maul her with nothing more than sharp claws and fists. She always did view herself as a beast of sorts.

She stopped dead in her tracks, the pointed tip of Pearl’s blade just barely breaking the skin of her throat. Jasper huffed, a single droplet of swirly red-orange blood dripped down from the small wound. “Don’t you dare come any closer to me, Jasper. I have the upper hand and I won’t hesitate to poof you again.” The larger woman looked down at the blade, and upon realizing her own weapon was nowhere around, she backed off. Pearl stepped forward with her, still aiming her weapon at Jasper’s throat.

“Why don’t you just do it now then, traitor? Why don’t you just poof and shatter me this instant?” Jasper had venom in her voice, she was bitter and angry, but she didn’t think she could take Pearl without any sort of weapon and in this tiny space. She didn’t have much strategy when fighting, but she isn’t stupid.

“Be quiet.” Pearl snapped. “Since you’re going to just reform every time I poof you, I’m going to have you walk with me and help me out of this cave.” She gestured back towards the entrance of the cave by tilting her head in its direction. “Moving those boulders and rocks could take too much time and I need to be out of here quickly. I’ve already wasted too much time by fighting you.”

“What makes you think you can convince me to follow your sorry ass out of here? I’d rather stay in here forever than help you.” Jasper snarled, she was disgusted and insulted by the thought of helping rebels.

The tip of a slender rapier tapped against her gem, “I won’t hesitate to shatter you if it means saving my friend. Maybe you should rethink your decision.” Pearl’s expression was clearly vicious.

Jasper looked away from Pearl and stepped back again, if she was willing to aid in shattering a Diamond, Jasper believed she had no qualms with shattering another gem herself. “Fine. I’ll work with you.” She was ashamed of herself, but maybe in the future she would have the chance to betray Pearl and poof her, so she agreed with no more arguments.

Pearl sighed in relief, “Thank you… Now, lead the way for me Jasper. I will use my light to help guide us.” Her voice softened quite a bit which somehow irritated Jasper more than when she was trying to be scary.

“Whatever…” Jasper muttered under her breath and trudged forward, the cave surely did go on and likely connected in a system. Hopefully they’d find an exit soon, so she didn’t have to be around this annoying pearl too much longer.

Anytime Jasper moved in a way Pearl didn’t like, whether she walked too slow or too fast, or her hand moved too far from her side, Jasper felt a sharp poke between her shoulder blades. She gritted her teeth and groaned, this was just embarrassing. Having someone who was supposed to be weaker led her around, threatening her… It was pathetic and she can’t fathom as to how it ended this way. She was so stupid for letting this happen.

The winding cave system felt like it lasted forever. The unlikely duo had been travelling for an indefinite amount of time, Jasper would guess they had been walking for thirty minutes by the time she actually decided to speak up. “You know… We’re not going to make it there in time to save your friend from being shattered. You should just give up on saving her.” She stated matter-of-factly, she was on a mission to piss off Pearl and get at least some sort of entertainment while they trekked through these tunnels.

“Hush. I don’t want to hear any of it.” She jabbed at Jasper’s back, cutting her just the tiniest bit.

Jasper winced slightly at the pain, then sighed. “This is boring...” She knew she was acting like a child, but anything was better than listening to nothing but drips of water hit the cave floor over and over. Not even an hour in and she was already going to be driven mad by this pompous little bitch.

Pearl didn’t even entertain the comment, however. She remained silent and nudged Jasper onward.

\---------------

After long enough, Pearl became impatient with holding Jasper at the edge of her sword, she huffed, “Stop...” 

Jasper paused one step ahead, glancing behind her to let Pearl know she was listening to what she had to say next.

“Are you really leading me in circles, Jasper? I feel like we’ve passed that same boulder ten times already!” she asked in an exasperated tone. It wasn’t exactly unreasonable to ask that, as everything in this miserable dump looked exactly the same

The striped gem scoffed and crossed her arms, moving to fully face the other. “Do you really think I want to be in here any longer than we’ve already been stuck? This isn’t exactly fun for me, princess. Believe me, I’d rather be listening to my Peridot ranting about ship coordinates and fuel injectors than do this.” She really was telling the truth, but whether or not Pearl believed her wasn’t her fault. There was nothing to hide.

Pearl looked at her incredulously for a minute, seeming to scan every little crease in Jasper’s face for any sort of lie. “... Alright.” She tapped her foot and looked down, “Let’s take a break.”

Jasper frowned and stammered, “I-Wait-What!? No, let’s keep going! I want to get out of here, unlike _ somebody _!”

Pearl pushed her point. “We’ve been walking in _ circles _, Jasper. The least we can do is stop for a moment and figure out how we’re going to mark where we’ve been.” Her voice shook, to Jasper’s surprise. Though she didn’t soften in the least.

“What do you mean? Draw something on the floor with your swords or something! There are plenty of solutions here, aren’t you supposed to be some big, badass quartz killer? You really can’t be _ that dumb _ if you are.”

A tear came to Pearl’s eyes and she quickly wiped it away before slowly and gracefully settling on the ground, not paying any mind to the cold, damp stone under her. Jasper was dumbfounded by this sudden docile attitude, what the hell had gotten into her? Was it the amethyst? Or maybe she was just frustrated like Jasper was? Whatever it was, this was getting old fast.

“You can go ahead… I’ll find my own way out.” Pearl sighed and sniffled. “I just want to be alone…”

Jasper was lost for words, was Pearl really just about to let her hostage go free? And for what? What good would that do her? She didn’t understand what sort of mind games the other gem was playing in the least, it didn’t make sense to her. The quartz squatted down in front of Pearl and without hesitation, tilted her chin up to face her. It was a dangerous move to try, but it didn’t really seem that Pearl would even try to attack at this point. That pretty face pulled back from Jasper’s hand and Pearl went to focusing on tracing the pink stem designs along her gauntlet with her fingers. 

Jasper spoke up,“What is your problem? Aren’t you supposed to be, like, running to rescue your little stumpy Amethyst?”

Silence.

She sighed, “You’re pitiful.”

“Be QUIET.” Pearl finally lost her patience with Jasper and barked as she looked up at her enemy, “What do you know about losing a friend? What do you understand about love, or-or friendship or ANYTHING!” Tears streamed down her freckly, pale blue cheeks at this point, her face was flushed blue and her eyes were starting to get puffy. “All you do is what Yellow Diamond tells you to do. You hurt gems, you make them suffer and you trap them, all for a DIAMOND who doesn’t care about you or anyone else!”

Pearl’s knuckles turned white from how hard she was gripping the handle of her sword. Jasper observed her as she sobbed, eyebrows knit tightly as she pondered what was just said. Was that how the Crystal Gems saw Homeworld gems? She supposed it wouldn’t be completely wrong if she really thought about it…

Jasper got a bit flustered trying to think of ways to comfort the Pearl, she didn’t like hearing her cry, it was too noisy and awkward for her to sit and watch this go on. The burly woman didn’t know a thing about emotions, or how to fix bad ones though. This was uncharted territory for her. 

She tapped her claws on her knees, she had an idea but it took a lot of guts to put into action. Better to just go ahead and do it rather than chicken out, yeah? On impulse, Jasper grabbed those delicate, freckled cheeks and pulled her into a rough kiss. So this is what it was like to kiss with someone, how weird… and yet exciting. 

Pearl’s eyes widened at the sudden intrusion of her personal space, she shoved Jasper off by the shoulders, and wiped her lips as the quartz fell back onto her butt. That really was one way to stop the blubbering. But what came next probably wasn’t worth it very much.  
  
“WHAT in the WORLD was THAT, Jasper?!”

“I was just trying to make you stop crying! I-I didn’t know what else to do!” Jasper sputtered and blushed a dark maroon, “I thought maybe it would calm you down!”

“You CAN’T just do that to someone out of nowhere! Especially not ME!”

Pearl climbed to her feet and stomped off, holstering her swords and rubbing her hands over her cheeks in frustration. Jasper scrambled up after her, “Hey, wait! Pearl!”

“Don’t even _ speak _ to me right now! I can’t believe you would _ do _something like that! We’re supposed to be enemies!” Pearl hissed back at Jasper, picking up the pace as she was caught up to. “I should have just LEFT you where you were and escaped out of this stupid cave!”

“Just- Wait, please-!” Jasper stumbled after Pearl. She wondered to herself why she was even chasing after this pipsqueak, but that thought soon faded as Jasper stopped suddenly, noticing something new about the caves. She felt a breeze and saw a faint, soft glow emanating from one of the branching tunnels. That’s got to be an exit.

Pearl was just about to make a likely snide comment as Jasper ran up and grabbed her arm, pulling her in the direction she noticed the light and breeze coming from. 

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!” Pearl squawked, doing her best to get free by hitting the pommel of her sword on Jasper’s massive arm. 

She soon realized what was happening, however, as the moonlight washed over them and fat snowflakes flew towards them from outside. The rose knight stopped hitting the furred warrior and looked with hopeful eyes at their newfound freedom.

Thank goodness, the duo was finally free from their freezing, damp prison.


	2. Chapter 2

Jasper stomped into the undisturbed snow, still dragging Pearl behind her, though not as fast once they managed to make it out. She smirked and looked down at the little gem, not even thinking to let go. “See, I’ve got this.” She was proud of herself for finding the exit before the other had done so.

Pearl attempted to wrench her arm free from the brutish hands holding her, “Yes, yes, that’s all fine and well. Could you just please let me go?”

Jasper huffed, a puff of white steam escaping her lips, “Yeah, sure. Whatever.” She had thought the knight would at least be grateful she didn’t just allow her to stomp off even further into the caverns and miss the exit. It wasn’t even her fault they were trapped there in the first place, nor was it her fault they didn’t just remove the boulders which would have been easily faster than that. This woman didn’t make an ounce of sense.

Pearl took the liberty of walking ahead this time around, she obviously didn’t feel the need to point her ridiculous weapon at Jasper anymore, to which the larger gem felt grateful. Jasper followed behind Pearl, not even thinking to try and disarm and capture her. Instead, she felt the need to apologize for the kiss she had given the other.

“Uh… Hey, Pearl?” She gulped, waiting a few seconds for a response that never came. She continued, “What I did back there… I’m sorry I did that. I’ve never kissed anyone and I thought it might calm you down. It seems to make humans happy to do, and since you like humans I-”

Pearl scoffed, cutting off Jasper. “What you did was an invasion of my personal space, and I suggest you don’t do it ever again. I don’t even see why you’re still following me at all.” She looked up in a prudish sort of way, her pointed nose poking out almost comically.

Jasper groaned and ran her hands over her head. This is frustrating. She was so embarrassed she had wished she’d never existed, someone ought to just shatter her this instant. It was painful to keep thinking about.

“I think we should go separate ways and never speak again.” Pearl spoke up. “It’s unwise of us to be together like thi-” an arrow zoomed past her face suddenly, her expression turning to shock as she finds herself lost for words.

They both turned to where the arrow came from and saw an amethyst with a longbow directed towards them. They were obviously closing in on the base Jasper was supposed to bring Pearl to.

Jasper grabbed up Pearl as another impossibly huge arrow whizzed right behind them. It was time to drag along the smaller gem once again as more and more arrows flew in front of them and behind, just barely missing them. Jasper stopped and held Pearl in front of her when they came across a tree wide enough to hide the two, then continued on, going from tree to tree as fast as their legs could take them.

“Well isn’t this just great! You’ve led us right into their line of fire you moron!” Pearl panted, “I bet this is exactly what you wanted, hmm?!”

Although the pearl seemed very eager to pin the blame on Jasper for where they ended up, she didn’t try to force the other to release her.

Jasper paused to look back at the rosy knight, her cheeks slightly darker and her eyebrows knit in confusion. “What?! I’m not even taking you in the DIRECTION of our Homeworld base, what the hell makes you think I’m trying to trick you? They’re trying to hit me too you kn-AGH!”

Pearl backed off and covered her mouth with both hands as she looked down to where an arrow was lodged in Jasper’s bicep. A growl came from the striped quartz as she ripped it from her arm. She got too caught up in defending herself and talking to the enemy, and ended up getting hurt. Why would she let down her guard like that? She had nothing to prove to the pearl. 

Pearl ran up in front of Jasper and grabbed her hand, “Run with me, I’ve got you.” to which the larger gem responded by groaning, though she listened to her.

They ran together, though it was a tad bit awkward with Jasper hunched over, trying to keep up with the smaller, more nimble lady. Jasper often stumbled over her feet but she managed to keep up regardless. She became sort of lost in her own thoughts once she caught her momentum, mindlessly following Pearl’s lead. She didn't expect Pearl to even attempt to help, did this mean she trusted her for some reason? Or was it something else? Was she trying to save her own ass, using Jasper as some sort of protection? Jasper was somewhat grateful regardless, she didn’t want to be left behind to explain what she was doing with an enemy of the Diamonds, nor did she want to be poofed and taken in by her own teammates. That would be awfully humiliating and would probably even mean her own demise if worst comes to worst.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her hand was roughly yanked down behind a boulder large enough to block the oncoming fire. She let out a sharp “Woah-!”, as she staggered and fell into Pearl. She quickly realized she was pressed close behind Pearl, and a soft blush crept slowly from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. Pearl wasn’t having any of it however, she pushed the larger lady back on her behind and crawled up close in front of her. Jasper swore she could smell some sort of sweet, flowery aroma off of Pearl with how close they got. It was delicate, lovely and lingered despite the things they’ve just gone through. It was admittedly very nice… Pleasant, even.

_ Wait, what? _

Jasper snapped out of it as Pearl tore a large swath of the thick, furred cloth that made up her cape. She remained silent as tiny, deft hands wrapped the makeshift bandage around her arrow wound and tied it tight.

“How is that? Do you think it’ll stay secure? I don’t want you to bleed out and poof on me…” Pearl looked up at Jasper, arms crossed and knees folded under her. She was so delicate and refined, yet there is such little effort in her doing these things, it was almost admirable.

“Yes… I’ll be fine. I don’t need your help.” She grumbled softly.

Pearl sighed, “That’s good. We have to move on right now, let’s go.”

Jasper stumbled to her feet and Pearl rose softly just before peeking out from behind their hiding place. She scanned the fields ahead of them, though it took just a bit too long as a surly amethyst did a spin dash from behind them and slammed into Pearl instead of Jasper, surprisingly enough.

“I got her! I got the traitor Pearl you were chasing! Jasper, help me-” The amethyst looked back to Jasper grabbing her up by the hair, yelling out in pain, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! She’s the enemy, not m-” A loud slam was heard as Jasper flipped her over her head by the hair, and slammed her into the powdery snow.

The purple quartz gasped as the air was forcefully knocked from her lungs. She was obviously shocked to see Jasper taking the wrong side, and so was Jasper herself. What did she think she was doing, going against her own like this? It was foolish, and Jasper’s heart hammered in her chest as she came to the realization that she might get caught and shattered if anyone with Homeworld found out this was happening. She couldn’t react and instead froze in her spot, still tightly holding the amethyst by her similarly wild mane.

Pearl obviously decided to take the rest into her own hands as she jumped down and stabbed her rapiers into the struggling amethyst. Jasper watched as her teammate was poofed, and continued watching as Pearl plucked her gem from the ground and bubbled her, likely sending her to Rose Quartz. Jasper felt a bit grateful, that meant there was no real evidence to her attacking one of her fellow Quartzes. Right?

Pearl looked back and obviously saw how affected Jasper was by this, though she wasn’t sure what was happening as she had asked, “Are you okay, Jasper?” There was some real concern in her tone, and she walked up and gently placed her hand on the arm that Jasper hadn’t hurt.

“Yeah.” Jasper chuckled a little and looked down to where the amethyst-sized dent in the snow was. “I should ask you the same, princess.” She directed her gaze back to Pearl and pointed to her own nose to indicate where she spotted an injury.

Pearl touched her gloves to her upper lip and looked at the blue blotch before quickly wiping it away. “I’ll be just fine. Everything will heal up in time.” She grabbed up Jasper’s hand again and tugged, “We should hurry, or else we’ll end up worse off if these Quartzes manage to corner us. We can’t take a group of them, especially with one of us unarmed and you know that.”

Jasper had a moment of indecision, did she really want to run off with this Pearl she had never met before today? Or did she want to try and turn her back on her, and risk this little gem making her way into the Homeworld base? There were other witnesses to see that she was with this rebel, it would also be more than one gem to testify against her. To them, it probably wouldn’t make much sense as to why she couldn’t catch a tiny pearl that answered to the enemy Rose Quartz and bring her back. Yellow Diamond would likely punish her, or even shatter her for her incompetence.

Screw it.

Might as well stick with the one person who’s proven to her that she could actually rely on her. All Jasper could think about was how she hoped she wasn’t making a massive mistake, though it was likely it’s too late anyways. “Let’s go.” Jasper squoze Pearl’s little hand, less so that she’s giving Pearl any sort of reassurance and more that she’s trying very hard to be firm in her decision.

Regardless, a little smile formed on that delicate, freckled face. Somehow, it made Jasper feel so much better to see that and she couldn’t help but to return that smile.

\---------------

They ran and ran until they felt they were able to stop and safely take a break to regroup. Arrows had stopped flying towards them and everything was silent aside from the howling wind and the occasional sound of an animal making the trees and dying underbrush rustle. The moon was now high above their heads and the light was almost soothing and calming, hadn’t it been for the assault they’ve just endured.

Jasper was the first to break the silence, “What do we do now? Should we go and save your amethyst? I could definitely sneak you in and-and we could-” 

Jasper was cut off by Pearl. “No, this is a one gem mission… I need to sneak in, break her free and get out. I can’t waste anymore time playing games with you, I’m already far behind. I’ve got until daybreak to rescue Amethyst.” She was sure of herself to carry this plan out alone.

Jasper growled out in frustration, “No! That’s so stupid, we could both definitely do this together, it would be easier that way! I can be an asset to your mission, I’m the perfect quartz! Come on, Pearl!”

“You’re not even part of this plan, Jasper! You were never supposed to be, and you still aren’t” Jasper looked hurt at that last remark, Pearl likely rephrased to save her feelings. Jasper understood Pearl probably felt she couldn’t trust her, which stung, but it wasn’t completely unreasonable. “If... We get caught doing this somehow, that would mean one more gem gets shattered. I don’t want that for you. Wait for me and we can return to Rose together.”

“You’re not even trying to listen to me.” Jasper huffed, still trying to convince the other to bring her along, “I knew it was a mistake trying to work together with you…” Jasper couldn’t admit to herself or the other that she was feeling a tad bit protective. She didn’t want to see Pearl hurt after all this teamwork stuff, perhaps she was beginning to feel that she cared for the tiny knight. Friends were pretty cool to have, she supposed.

Pearl looked up at Jasper, she seemed uncertain. A concerned frown formed on her face and she took a moment before grabbing Jasper’s hand with both of hers. “Let’s do it together, then… You can pretend to take me in as a prisoner, which would take us right to where they’re holding Amethyst. Once I have Amethyst, you could likely escort us out, saying that the execution has been rescheduled and moved if any of the guards get suspicious and ask what you’re doing.” She tapped slender fingers on Jasper’s knuckles, it seemed as if it was done almost endearingly. “Can I trust you to help me with this, Jasper?”

Big, round eyes looked up at her expectantly. They reminded Jasper of the moon, and she had never noticed until now that she had no pupils, just soft blue irises that barely distinguished themselves from the whites. They were gorgeous. Dazed by those odd eyes, Jasper nodded slowly in response.

Pearl took a deep breath and nodded back, “Excellent. I think we can get this done together if I can really trust you. Please don’t let me down, Jasper.”

“You got it, princess.”

\----------------

Jasper and Pearl took awhile to figure out where exactly the base was. Although it wasn’t necessarily hiding from anyone, they were in the woods and just like in the cave, it was difficult to make their way to where they needed to be without getting lost or turned around. Tall bricks made of stone made up large walls around this castle-esque building. The walls didn’t seem so sleek and intricate as the building they actually needed to get into. Large spires climbed up high, slowly forming into a sharp point with large, flat platforms. Up there, several lapis lazulis stood guard and watched over the nearby forest. Though they seemed to not pay any mind to what was around them, they were likely bored out of their minds and talking or playing games.

The real threats to Pearl and Jasper at the moment were the several quartz warriors standing guard and making rounds, patrolling the front and sides of the walls at certain intervals. They watched from behind a particularly large evergreen, peeking from the foliage to get an idea of what they’ll be dealing with.

“Looks heavily guarded, but I think we can manage this mission. Rubies and Quartzes from Homeworld are very gullible and naive, so I’m sure it would be easy to trick them into believing us…” Pearl noted.

Jasper was offended, “Are you forgetting I’m a quartz?”

“Oh, please, you know what I meant. You can’t say you don’t think the same of them at this point. That amethyst we defeated thought you were just  _ chasing  _ me! We were holding hands! ”

“Right.”

Pearl turned her back on Jasper and put her wrists together, ready to be cuffed, “Alright Jasper. Arrest me and let’s get going.”

Jasper pulled cuffs from her gem and restrained Pearl’s thin little wrists. “I’m surprised these even fit on you, you’re so damn tiny.” Jasper noted.

“Oh hush, my size doesn’t concern you.”

Jasper just barely noticed Pearl’s cheeks darken as she looked back. She smirked. Oh, how nice it was to make Pearl blush instead of the other way around.

She grabbed the knight’s right arm and settled beside her. “Alright, I’m ready.”

Pearl nodded and began walking forward. Jasper did her best to make it look as if she was leading the Pearl ahead, squeezing her arm just a bit out of nervousness. She was unsure of herself and worried about whether or not what she was doing was right, despite her stoic expression. It isn’t too late to just surrender Pearl and claim she was just abusing her trust so she could imprison her easily. Yellow Diamond would probably be pleased to have someone who worked so closely to Rose Quartz.

But then again.

Jasper also realized she was beginning to like this Pearl somewhat, she enjoyed her presence and that made it difficult to betray her and leave her to the wolves. She also figured that this rose knight was just about the only person she could trust at all, even among the gems she got to know and befriend among Homeworld’s ranks. It wouldn’t hurt to just stay by her side and work together, would it? This is difficult.

As they approached the guards standing at a large gate similarly made to their prisoner cells, two quartzes told them to halt and asked Jasper to identify herself. She gave her name, facet number and cut, as well as her reason for being there. “I’m here to bring in this enemy pearl I found attempting to come and rescue the amethyst that is to be shattered at daybreak. She works closely with Rose Quartz, and I believed it to be best to attempt to keep her in this state to get information.” Her voice was completely confident and didn’t give away the fact that she was lying.

Pearl, on the other hand, was very dramatic, loud and mildly unbelievable. Shouting, “Ohhh you MONSTERS will NEEEVER get any information from MEE! Just you TRY it, I won’t utter a  _ single  _ word!” and she winked up at Jasper with a tiny smile.

Jasper was almost disgusted at how atrocious her acting was, this pearl is lucky she’s cute or else she would have just left her here with these Quartzes. Hopefully they’re just as gullible as Pearl predicted, or else they would have no chance of saving the amethyst.

The guards looked at each other and back at Jasper just before allowing them to enter the gate, much to her delight and surprise. Things were finally beginning to look up and go according to plan, it seemed.


	3. Chapter 3

Jasper already knew her way around the base, but Pearl seemed clueless as to the layout of everything. This must have been her first time here, which wasn't too helpful considering she was the one sent on this rescue mission. The little lady's head moved about as big eyes surveyed their surroundings. Her round gem lit up with little beeps, likely memorizing everything she could.

As they entered through the gate, they were greeted with small ruby ships, all lined up in several neat rows. Peridots were working on the ships, calibrating and reinforcing each red egg-shaped machine and not paying any mind to Jasper and her “prisoner”. They soon came up to another entrance after passing the ships' docking bay. This one was incredibly intricate in design, with glowing green and red lines forming several diamond shaped patterns as they crossed one another. This massive door was certainly large enough to accommodate even the largest of gems, as Jasper had actually seen before with Yellow Diamond. 

More guards were aligned along the side steps that led up to that second entrance, though this time they weren’t bothered to give their credentials and instead, the massive doors' lights turned yellow as it swung inwards. Four large topaz guards stepped aside to allow the duo to pass through. Their size was admirable, but none of them stood even close to Jasper’s height, which was something she was proud of. She was obviously an exceptional gem; perfect, even.

Jasper looked down and noticed Pearl squeezing her hands into little fists and sweating just a bit; she seemed extremely nervous to be among so many enemies of Rose’s army. It probably didn't help that she was cuffed and vulnerable at the moment, with someone she could barely trust. Jasper squished her arm twice to get her attention, and as she looked up to the warrior, she received a soft, confident smile. Jasper tried to make it look like she was saying,  _ “It will be alright, I will take care of you.” _ and the dainty knight seemed to get her message to some extent. Her shoulders relaxed as she looked away shyly, and pale cheeks were suddenly flooded with a bright blue color. Jasper couldn't help but to silently admire them.

Jasper went to turn towards the hallway that led to their little dungeon, and Pearl seemed more eager to continue to their goal. Jasper felt small tugs as the other tried to lead her forward, "She's here, right? Right?" The rose knight whispered harshly and looked back up at her "captor".

They came up to another tall door, thick and made of metal that slid open to the side. Jasper nodded to Pearl as she entered a passcode, "Yeah… don't worry, I bet she's smart enough to help herself if something happened." The warrior tried her best to be reassuring, and hopefully she was right.

The two were halted by an agate who was travelling from the other end of the path, “State your credentials and reasoning for entering.” Jasper did so, and the agate took the information to mind before she noticed Pearl, smiling pleasantly, “Oh Jasper! How incredible that you caught Rose Quartz’s little right hand, she’s been such a nuisance, really. It’s no real surprise that a gem such as yourself was able to catch the-”

The striped quartz huffed, “You know, I really have to get going. This…  _ disgrace  _ to our Homeworld has caused me enough trouble as it is and I want to be done with her.” Her voice was cold and unforgiving just as before, she felt her acting was believable and that she had done a good job tricking these gems and she was rather proud of it. Jasper figured she ought to be a spy someday.

The agate backed off to the side and straightened up nervously before moving out of their way, “Ah… Yes, understandable. I apologize for wasting your valuable time.”

Normally, agates aren't so kind and thoughtful towards quartzes, but Jasper had the ranking and power Holly Blue didn't due to how exceptional she was. Another thing to be prideful about, but now wasn't the time to get smug. She had to get going and find that Amethyst.

Jasper continued on a few steps forward before she was stopped by the same voice once more, “Jasper? It seems you’ve forgotten to have that pearl relinquish her weapons, would you mind if I took them?”

Her breath caught in her throat and she looked down at Pearl, who greeted her with that hopeful, heartbreaking look she seemed to make so well. 

Jasper coughed nervously, “Ah, well… I think I can retrieve the weapons when we make it down to the prisoner cells. I’m sure you’ve got something better to do with your time than that…?” She hoped it would work.

The agate laughed and waved her hand, “Oh, nonsense. Nothing interesting has happened for days and I’ve been dying to do something truly productive. Here, I’ll take it.” She bent down and pulled the flowery rapiers from their scabbards without another word. Pearl attempted to fight it and tried her best to lash out at Holly Blue, but Jasper held her back. “Hmm… This one’s feisty, we ought to shatter her quickly don’t you think…?” Agate looked up at Jasper, who nodded nervously. 

“Uh… Yeah, she’s a real handful. A waste of space if you ask me.”

"Indeed…" Agate made a nasty look towards Pearl and walked away, the sound of heels clacking against the smooth floor fading away as she walked down the path. 

Damn it, now  _ both  _ of them were unarmed. The situation was already beginning to look bad and it hasn’t been more than ten minutes since they’ve walked into those gates. Jasper expected a lecture as soon as it happened, but she felt she had done the right thing in this instance. It wouldn't be a surprise that the agate would find them suspicious if they didn't relinquish the weapons, she could easily cause a scene to attract some guards. Nevertheless, Pearl was angry.

The dainty woman hissed up at Jasper quietly, “What were you  _ doing _ , you just let her take my weapons away? Are you  _ trying  _ to get us  _ killed _ ?”

Jasper defended herself, keeping her tone down just as Pearl did, “Don’t you think that would be a little  _ suspicious _ , Pearl?”

The smaller gem gave a small “ugh” and tugged herself forward. Jasper squeezed Pearl’s arm tight and became more forceful in leading her away, to which the smaller gem winced in pain. “ _ What _ is your problem! Stop  _ hurting _ me!"

“Once you stop telling me what to do and actually work with me, maybe I will.” Jasper made her point by crushing the tiny arm even more. 

Oh boy. That would be sure to bruise later on.

A tear pricked Pearl’s eyes and she gasped, her feelings were probably hurt and Jasper felt her stomach sink. If she hadn’t been so difficult, there wouldn’t have been any need to be rough at all, right? She just wanted to be considered more and not be treated as a fool, but the guilt had her loosen her grip and the smaller woman didn’t say anything more. Pearl continued with Jasper, who noticed now that delicate shoulders were slumped and her head hung low. Tiny sniffles came from a pointy little beak, though the pale gem was surely doing her best to hide everything. 

They came up to a door, similar to the one they'd just entered from. Jasper removed a glove from one of her hands and stuffed it in her pocket just before placing her open palm on a reader. Once it scanned, she pressed a few buttons, already knowing what she needed to do by heart as she’s brought in several other gems before. Their odd elevator opened up to reveal a tube with a small platform that led up or down, depending on where you wanted to go. Everything lit up and whirred, bright stripes of light pulsating and leading straight up and down, along the tube. Those same lights led across walls and ceilings to make diamond shapes as they crossed, just like before. 

They stepped onto that whirring platform together and Jasper ordered it to lead down with the press of a button, and the doors shut and hissed as they were smoothly dropped down to the floor below. They stepped out as the elevator stopped, and from there the cells that held gems were immediately in plain sight. They were a tad bit short and took the form of a wide semicircle. Artificial beams made up little windows that kept their captives inside, and it was the same sort of technology that was used for gem destabilizers. Any gem walking through would be instantly poofed and lose their form.

There were some poofed captives, unmoving stones laid just near the cell window. Others were curled up, asleep or hiding in the farthest corners of the cells. The ones who watched all seemed terrified of Jasper as she stomped by. She would sometimes assert her dominance over inmates by yelling and slamming her hands against the outer edge of the cells, she adored terrorizing them. It made her laugh - it served them right for them not doing their proper jobs and betraying their own kind. 

Or, well, that’s how she thought about it before. Now she felt a tinge of guilt for the cowering gems, and she noticed her most recent prisoner looking up at her in disdain. Perhaps being with the Pearl showed her just how cruel she could be, or maybe it was just the thought of the rebels believing all homeworld gems to be barbaric. Jasper wasn’t completely sure that that was how they really thought, but if it was true, it certainly stung. She doesn’t believe herself to be some sort of heartless being. Frustrated and pent up with all the fighting and wars happening, sure. But not nearly the worst she’s ever seen.

As they stopped at the end of this first row of cells, they turned left and bumped into two burly carnelians making rounds at the outer edges of the jail. They stumbled a step back from Jasper and Pearl with synchronized "oof"s, their serious expressions not nearly faltering in the least. They didn't seem upset at the interruption, thankfully. For Jasper, this was nerve-wracking and she couldn’t help a few beads of sweat from forming. Being caught was the last thing either of them wanted, so she played along once again, trying to keep her stoic form.

The carnelian on the left spoke first, “Bringing in another prisoner, eh?”

The other followed suit, as if it was scripted. “Just like our Jasper to take down so many gems and bring them to justice.”

“Agreed. Not to mention this one is directly from Rose’s army, our Diamond will be pleased.”

“Please, let us take your prisoner.”

The bright red quartzes both came and took Pearl from Jasper without asking. She didn’t want to fight back and have to answer for her actions, she highly doubted this pearl would be able to help if she did fail anyways.

Pearl’s head whipped back at Jasper and she attempted to wrench her wrists from the guards, “Let me GO!” she shouted. She was serious again, no more acting. “Jasper, please, don’t let them do this! I need to save Amethyst, I can’t be trapped here!” Fat tears welled up in her eyes, with no doubt, she felt betrayed, but it was the entirety of this homeworld castle against just the two of them. 

Pearl managed to free a hand from one of the carnelians, and she reached for Jasper to help. All Jasper could do was stand and watch until she began to look down at her feet, she didn’t want to watch her fight pathetically against the two guards. She crossed her arms, and huffed, she really  _ really  _ didn't want to leave, but she had to sooner or later. Pearl managed to make it close enough to graze Jasper’s hair with her hands before she was grabbed away again, and it made Jasper’s heart jump to her throat. 

Oh, how disgusting she felt when she peered up between parted bangs to witness a struggling Pearl locking eyes with her. Jasper gave Pearl up to Homeworld, and she should have been proud of herself for doing so, but it ended up breaking her heart more than anything. Although the woman was rather annoying, she cared for the little knight that could, and had trust in her, even though they were supposed to be enemies and hadn't met too long ago. Jasper fully realized she was going to lose her only form of companionship in this entire war simply because she was a coward. But what was she supposed to do? She lost her confidence and didn't feel secure in anything anymore, it was a difficult decision and she hoped Pearl would forgive her for it. After all, helping a rebel was enough to get her shattered.

Jasper turned on her heel and walked away from the commotion, she firmly believed there was nothing more she could do in this situation. If she couldn’t defeat one lonely gem in a fight, then she certainly wouldn’t fare well against several quartzes. Thoughtless as most of them were, they were strong in numbers, she had to admit.

She stepped into the elevator and went up, Pearl’s betrayed and desperate expression being hidden by two cold, metal doors.

\----------------

Jasper sat at steps leading up to resting quarters assigned to the quartzes who were hurt or who weren’t busy with any duties. This was a familiar place to her normally, but now it felt odd. It didn’t feel like she was back at home.

For the first time, she didn’t feel so superior or strong compared to any of the other gems. Jasper felt like one of the others. A simple little rock among pebbles. Though she was incidentally taller and sturdier than them, she could be defeated by any one of them if they were just smarter than her. The striped quartz sighed to herself and let her mane down from the lazily tied twine, messing it up so it spilled over her broad shoulders and back evenly.

Her lamenting was interrupted by a frantic looking zircon, “You’re the Jasper who caught that Pearl that’s being kept in the prison, correct?”

Jasper huffed again, she couldn’t catch a break. “Yeah? What’s it to you?”

The zircon’s stance straightened significantly, “Our Diamond has requested that you see to the pearl before her trial. Use any method at your disposal to try to get information on Rose Quartz.” she coughed and loosened her collar, “She would like it done tomorrow evening at the latest.”

Jasper boredly put her chin in her palm, “No problem, I’ll get on that and see what I can get out of our prisoner. She seems difficult and can take a beating, so it might take awhile before I get anything tangible.”

“As long as you’re able to get something.” The anxious woman shuffled in spot as Jasper remained silent, “A-Alright, that will be all.” and she was off.

Great, that’s exactly what she needed right now. Seeing Pearl wasn’t something she wanted to do, she was busy being ashamed of herself and her weakness. Her cowardliness. Jasper blamed herself, and she wasn’t exactly wrong. She did just surrender instead of fighting the carnelian guards as she should have done. But it was too late to go back now.

Jasper rubbed her face and held her cheeks, thinking on it more. Maybe it wasn’t necessarily too late? Pearl isn’t dead just yet, and maybe that Amethyst of hers could be of some use. It wasn’t stupid to think that they could manage to sneak out all together in some way. She had an idea of what to do, although it was reckless and dumb. But before she could do anything about that, she needed to gain Pearl’s trust again. And hopefully have her help to devise something better, as all of Jasper's plans haven't been going too smoothly. 

She fit herself into her specially made hole and closed the door over herself, making sure to get some rest and a clear head before going to see Pearl again tomorrow. One day spent in the jail wouldn't hurt so much.

\----------------

Jasper sauntered into the prison later the next day, as she was supposed to. She kept a calm, relaxed demeanor about herself and was ready to face her little rebel knight again. Approaching the carnelians who were there previously, she inquired about where Pearl was being held and asked if they could both wait outside of the elevator on the floor above them.

“Why would we do that?”

“Wouldn’t that leave you and the prison vulnerable?”

“You may be big and very strong, but you couldn’t hold out if something happened and too many of these gems were to escape.”

Jasper panicked but answered quickly, “If something were to happen while I questioned Pearl, You would be able to get help faster and make sure no one else would escape.” That probably wasn't really true. She paused a second before adding on, “A-And, it wouldn’t be pleasant for you to hear me beating the snot out of this girl. She’ll probably cry and stuff, and I don’t want you two getting all soft on me in the middle of my interrogation.” The striped gem puffed up her chest proudly, hoping her feigned confidence would fool them.

They looked at each other and shrugged, one of them responding, “Alright! Sounds fine to me!"

“She’s in cell 32, two rows past this one.” the second carnelian pointed to the arrangement of cells on Jasper’s left.

The warrior quartz watched as the guards trotted off and giggled to each other, likely relieved to be having a break from watching these sorry gems in their cells. She wanted to be able to talk to someone without it being all business like that, and she hoped that Pearl would do that with her once they were safe and out of here.

Jasper followed instructions and counted the numbers, each of them embedded into the wall and glowed dimly so anyone could easily tell which is which. She stopped at cell 32, spying a thin figure sitting on the floor against the cold, hard wall. They stripped her of her armor and replaced it all with assigned clothes. Long, pale jumpsuits were one of the fates that all of the inmates here faced. Not exactly uncomfortable, but it was ugly to look at, Jasper had to admit.

Pearl looked up from the ground towards the towering woman and frowned, “Oh, look who it is.” her voice shook. She turned her head towards the back of the cell, “Here to torture me and get information, I hear. I shouldn’t have trusted the likes of you, I knew you wouldn’t change. Go ahead and do your worst, I wouldn’t betray Rose even if it meant being shattered.”

Jasper’s heart shattered into a million pieces, she really was doing nothing but trying her best. It was well deserved, but it hurt. She looked around and saw there were no gems watching, then she pressed the code into a small panel on the side of the cell, completely dissipating the yellow, glowing forcefield. She stepped inside the slightly cramped space and knelt in front of Pearl, who gave her a shocked look.

“What do you think you’re doi-”

“Shhh.” Jasper put a finger to her lips.

“Oh, like I’ll listen to you NOW after you’ve stabbed me in the back and left me to those quartzes. We could have defeated them if you weren’t so-”

“Shut up and listen to me.” Jasper’s voice was stern and she grabbed those bony shoulders in front of her, effectively shutting Pearl up. “I’m going to help you get out of here, I promise. I’ll help your little runt Amethyst, too. I just need you to cooperate with me.”

Pearl looked to the empty cell across from her, and to the inside of her own. Anywhere but Jasper, which was frustrating. “Alright…”

“I’ll go and find your weapons and bring them to you, and we can be out of here if we get the help of these other gems. Or at the very least, you, me and your friend could probably make it out of here. We just need to disguise ourselves and bust out.”

Pearl immediately punched Jasper’s shoulder, “Well that’s just stupid. Wouldn’t they be curious to notice my weapons g-”

They both heard the hiss of the elevator as the doors opened, someone was coming in so they had to pretend to partake in some torturous activities. Jasper sighed and whispered very quietly, “Play along with me.” To which Pearl nodded.

Jasper gently grabbed Pearl up by the throat, and she swore she could see Pearl’s cheeks flood with a soft blue color. A choked sound came from the smaller gem as she was raised higher, her feet now off the ground and almost high enough to hit the top of the cell. Pearl’s legs dangled lazily and she held to the massive arm that kept her steady. Jasper raised her fist up as if she were going to punch this defenseless gem, but she was stopped by a familiar voice.

“Jasper, are you in here? Those carnelians tell me you had just arrived not too-” the agate from the night before stopped in her place and covered her mouth upon finding the right cell. "Ah, there you are…" She sucked air between her teeth and smiled fakely, “Well, I was just checking in on your progress. I'll just be off, I don't want to bother your interrogation, good luck to you and your endeavors!” The blue woman bustled off to the elevator, her high heeled boots making an echoing tap with each step.

As the doors hissed shut, Jasper dropped Pearl, who was now blushing up to the very tips of her ears. She fell to her butt and made a soft, “Oof!” Jasper knelt down again and looked Pearl over, she was worried, although her most recent action wasn't too telling of that fact. Her hands came up to soft, tiny cheeks and she tilted Pearl’s face up to reveal her pretty little throat.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I? I’m sorry, that was the first thing that came to mind…” Her normally gravelly voice became very tender.

Pearl stammered, “I-I ah… I’m fine, Jasper, really. Don’t worry about me.” She gingerly took Jasper’s hands and folded them over each other, holding them between both of her hands. “I think… If you’re able to figure out where everything is, then perhaps it wouldn’t be so foolish to at least attempt your plan.”

Jasper sighed and smiled, “You really think so?”

“Y-Yes, of course. It couldn’t hurt to try out your plan again… Though, if we did fail we both might get shattered. Are you sure you want to take this risk?”

“Yeah… What else can we do, Pearl? Wait for help?” Jasper chuckled, “No offense, but that didn’t really turn out too well for your Amethyst.”

Pearl made a very offended expression and poked a tiny finger into Jasper's chest, "It is  _ your  _ fault we're in this mess!"

Jasper backed off of Pearl and crossed her arms, "I didn't want to stick us in a vulnerable position, Pearl!"

"And look where that got us! I'm stuck in this cell until you figure out how to sneak me out!"

A squeaky, grating voice rang out from a different cell further off, "Knock it off, you two! I'm TRYIN' to get some SLEEP here!"

Pearl lost most of her focus on Jasper as she called out, "A-Amethyst?!"

"Uh,  _ Yeah _ ." Amethyst replied, stating it as if it were an obvious fact. "Facet-5, Cut-8XM."

The little knight gasped and patted Jasper's cheeks, "Oh! That's her!" 

Pearl got to her feet effortlessly and darted out of the cell to where she could hear Amethyst. Jasper quickly followed suit, her running just a bit clumsy from trying to get back on her feet fast enough to join alongside Pearl. They stopped to see a stocky, purple woman relaxing. Stumpy legs were crossed and similarly built arms folded under a round head. 

Amethyst turned her attention up at the duo, a lazy smile on her face upon seeing Pearl. "Oh, hey, P.” She looked Jasper up and down, “I haven’t really seen this jasper in Rose’s army before. Is she some sort of new recruit?” Immediately, a chubby pinky found its way to Amethyst’s nose and was set to work.

Pearl didn’t seem to mind, this must have been something normal for Amethyst to do in her spare time. “I guess you could say something like that…” She looked back at Jasper, who shrugged and nodded with a semi confident expression. Her gaze returned to Amethyst, who was flicking a booger away from her. Disgusting. “She’s going to help us get out of here, alright? If you cooperate, this may just go by smoothly.”

Amethyst shrugged and wiped her arm across her nose, "Yeah, I can do that. Being here kind of sucks anyways.”

Jasper spoke up, “Why weren’t you shattered at the time you were supposed to be?”

The stumpy purple quartz looked up and snickered, “Oh it was  _ easy,  _ All I had to do was change my form and they didn’t recognize who I was. They believed me and now they’re probably trying to search for me when I’m just SITTING right HERE! Isn’t that hilarious?!” She leaned in and murmured, “These guys are  _ super dumb _ if you ask me. Buuuut, that’s a good thing for us.”

It did make sense, most of homeworld’s guards aren’t even used to the idea of lying and deception, they’re gullible as Pearl said before, and Jasper saw that now. It’s a little less embarrassing when she remembered that at least she isn’t anything like them. She was able to deceive them just fine and her acting was far less atrocious than Pearl’s weak performances.

Pearl ignored Amethyst's rude observations, “We’re going to get some weapons with the help of Jasper, here. We don’t have much choice at this point, but at least we have something.”

“Think we could get my whip?” Amethyst asked, scrambling to her hands and knees like an excited puppy. "It's, like, black with these purple stones in it, it's  _ really _ cool, like me." She smiled big.

"I'll see if I can find it, but you might have to make do with something else…" Jasper responded before turning to Pearl, "We should get you back to your cell, soon. I'll give homeworld false information about Rose Quartz's army when they ask what I got from you, they'll probably just send me down here again if they find out it's a lie. It should also buy me some time if they happen to move out some of our troops in the meantime."

Pearl looked down at Amethyst and rubbed her hands together before sighing, "I suppose that doesn't sound so bad. Just be sure to get it done quickly..."

Jasper put her hand at Pearl's back, "Hey, I got this. Just trust in me, yeah?"

Pearl looked up at Jasper with those big, hopeful eyes and nodded. The striped quartz was already tired of that precious face, it made her heart soften up every time.

Jasper guided the little gem to her cell by the small of her back, and Amethyst bid her goodbye with a "See ya, P." 

Pearl went and rested on her knees in the center of her cell, looking out at Jasper, who was inputting a code to lock her back up. A yellow beam lit up and quickly shot across the entrance, effectively sealing Pearl inside. Her hands rested in her lap and small fingers tapped across pale knuckles. Jasper already knew the signs of her being nervous, and this was one of them.

"I'm trusting you, Jasper… Please don't let us down..."

Jasper bent down a bit and gave a reassuring grin and patted the top of the cell entrance, "Don't worry about a thing, buttercup. I'll take care of it."

Pearl seemed a bit unsure of that still, but gave a small smile and nod regardless. Jasper pushed up from her leaning position and started march towards the elevator. The door opened and the whirring circle carried her up, and she smoothed her hair back and sighed in relief. That surprisingly went better than she thought it might - maybe there's some hope for the three after all.

She walked from the opening doors on the upper floor and pointed back, "We're all done. You guys can go back in."

The carnelians waiting for Jasper to finish nodded and went back to their stations. Jasper hustled forward, pulling her furry cape over her arms. It was comforting, and may spare her some anxiety as she went to deliver false information to Yellow Diamond. A yellow pearl could be seen waiting for Jasper, likely to make sure she knows that she's expected. 

The pearl commanded her, "Come with me to see our spectacularly radiant Yellow Diamond, please." 

Yep. Right on the money. Jasper responded with a quick, "Yeah, alright." She wasn't in the mood to talk and was steeling herself to lie about something that could get her shattered.

\----------------

It took a bit to reach Yellow Diamond, they went through several guards and doors to reach her. She was practically untouchable with all of this security running around, and none of it made Jasper feel any better about her situation. She was standing on a narrow ledge and it felt like she was preparing to leap to her death.

Yellow Pearl did their gem salute and that nasally voice proudly announced their arrival, "Here is the Jasper you requested, my perfect, glimmering Diamond!"

Jasper's stomach dropped to her feet as she stood before Yellow Diamond, yet the pearl skipped gleefully to her spot. The warrior's arms and hands crossed to make a diamond shape, same as the pearl. "Greetings, my Diamond."

The giant gem boredly put her hand at her cheek and leaned against it, she didn't seem impressed in the least by her subordinate. "Have you come with any information for me?" Her leg crossed over her knee as she fiddled with menus, likely going over some highly important information.

Jasper wanted to be poofed right then and there. "Yes, my Diamond. I've been told there is an outpost due west of here where the pearl came from." A blatant lie. "The direction she came from when I had found her was northwest from here, along paths we had made." Another lie, Pearl's origin point was likely southeast bound. She wanted to try to lead them in the opposite direction. "They also plan to infiltrate one of our kindergartens nearby to gather more soldiers. I'm not sure of which one, exactly, she didn't specify." That was probably not right, Jasper doesn't know what they know. But that ought to keep them busy for awhile. 

She gulped and a bead of sweat made its way down her cheek, waiting for a response.

A frown came across Yellow Diamond's face as she made a dissatisfied sound. "How irritating… Is that all?"

"Yes." 

Yellow Diamond sighed and waved her hand, "You can go, now."

Jasper crossed her arms in the proper salute again and stated, "Yes, my Diamond." 

The anxious woman didn't hesitate to make her way out as quickly as possible once it was all finished. The visit was short and sweet, but it was enough to make her feel terrified right down to her core. Jasper was strong willed and confident around any other gem, but place her in front of a Diamond and she was an absolute mess. 

She bustled through long halls and guards and made her way outside of the base's walls, not stopping for anyone or anything. Marching into the woods, the sweaty quartz went to bury her face in a pile of snow where no one would see or hear her, and scream at the top of her lungs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! Sorry for taking so long to finish this chapter, I had to rewrite it and come up with a new outline for the story. More chapters should be coming out faster, though! Thanks for reading! :o)

**Author's Note:**

> My first work for this fandom! Please let me know if you enjoy it and I'll keep writing more! :o


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